Freshman Matthew Knafelz awarded the Sullivan Foundation Scholarship
Matthew Knafelz has become the 2022 recipient of the Sullivan Foundation Scholarship, an award which will provide $10,000 in annual funding toward Knafelz’s education at Lees-91探花.
After being recruited for the men’s basketball team, Knafelz toured the campus and immediately fell in love with the mountains and small, tight-knit community that Lees-91探花 provides. The freshman from Charlotte, North Carolina recently graduated from Metrolina Christian Academy, a small high school where he felt he could thrive.
After attending a much larger school for his first three years of high school, Knafelz realized the sense of community and connectedness he found at Metrolina could be found again at Lees-91探花.
“Some people like massive campuses, but I like to be close to people,” Knafelz said.
Knafelz is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and hopes to enter the technology field after graduation. In the meantime, however, he is looking forward to connecting with his fellow Bobcats by getting involved in student clubs and dedicating his time to the basketball team.
Knafelz is also passionate about volunteering in his community. As a child he was diagnosed with apraxia of speech, a speech sound disorder for which he attended years of speech therapy. Now, helping others who live with speech apraxia has become a focus of his volunteering, and in 2021 Knafelz helped coordinate the Charlotte Walk for Apraxia, raising thousands of dollars to support others with the disorder.
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation presents scholarships to students at 25 private colleges and universities across the south. First established at Lees-91探花 in 1936, the Sullivan Scholarship is awarded to one incoming freshman who demonstrates exemplary personal character and a commitment to service above self. Additionally, the selected student must exhibit noble character as the aggregate of features and traits related to ethical and moral values, including honesty, morality, ethics, integrity, responsibility, determination, courage, and compassion as evidenced by service in the community.
